MrSMW

24th year actually, the last 22 of which have been full-time and I’ve tried to get into food/restaurants, property, Motorsport, product…all kinds of stuff and tried various angles including; free, low priced, full price…but no joy, especially if money was involved because of course everyone was happy with free! So over the years I came to the conclusion that for whatever reason, I could somehow make what I do (weddings and events though these days it’s purely destination weddings) very easily, but the above, what I personally call ‘commercial work’, not. I’m long since past trying to figure out why and with just 7 planned years left in my part of the industry, have zero desire (or need) to look at anything else now. If I was a 20 something, or even a 30 something maybe, but at 53, nah, I’ll just stick with what works for me and then at 60, after 30 years at it, not entirely sure what I will do, but plan on working part-time for another 10 years. Maybe National Geographic will want me by then… 🤔🤪

Let’s see how long this post stays up. I have started a countdown…

V-log daytime inc. indoors and only flip to the Flat profile once it’s dark and we are firmly in 6400+ territory. S1H can have forward tracking AF issues but sometimes is pretty OK f4-8, but 4k or 6k, not really noticed much difference, other than crop mode obviously has the best AF. I never walk with these things. It’s gimbal or stand still. I can’t see anything but issues when folks expect and try and use cameras without proper stabilization. I’ve seen so many examples of ‘gimbal like’ and nah, it’s not. Maybe in some instances with mid length lenses and a ton of extra stab (and cropping) in post, but sorry, just not a fan of any of it and it’s all a bit (a lot) square peg, round hole and wishful thinking to me. Action cams and the DJI Pockets etc, fair enough, but ‘proper’ cameras. Gimbal or steady cam it etc IMO. Personal opinion and preference.

I’d like to see any GH7 go modular. Small boxy body, add on various grip options, or rig it etc. Why ‘everything’ has to be black lumps of molded SLR body types, I have no idea. The Sigma FP is a case example of what could be. Camera options are generally pretty boring…

I haven’t found it huge or even that significant, but the output from the S1H is definitely ‘nicer’ and more ha, ‘cinematic’. Has to be the combo of that different sensor and the OLPF. I have been giving it some thought just how I might use my pair this year and had settled on S1H + battery grip + 70-200 on tripod with S5ii + 28-70 on roaming duty, but I’m thinking now I might just pick up a battery grip for the S5ii, take the grip off the S1H and then swap the lenses around so the S1H becomes my run & gun. 6k 30p for the S1H and the S5ii can do 4k 60p for the long static stuff and tracking shots. I could and even perhaps should, use 4k or even 6k 30p for the static stuff, but I’d forget to switch and find that every time I wanted some slo mo, I had no suitable footage, heat of the moment and all that!

Then you assume wrong as I have been making a full-time living from photography and video for over 20 years…just not in the commercial world.

My S1H is better at everything over my S5ii, stills and video, except outright AF capability and size/weight, the latter of which is not an issue to me.

Wrestling with this also… A decade ago, I had 20:20 vision and did not even consider how anything else would impact my work (shooting). These days, I need 2 pairs of specs. Readers for reading and editing plus varifocals for shooting. I can use the EVF but almost exclusively shoot with the rear LCD bouncing between video and stills all day long as I do. Which is a reason why rear LCD’s under 2000 (whatever the units are) are not great for me. Another area where I prefer S1H over S5ii for instance and why most Sony cameras to me are not great. I am looking (no pun intended) at laser this year, but we’ll see (pun intended)…

With extreme wincing back in the day. When I used to live in the UK and shoot church weddings, it was very hit and miss whether you could even get permission to shoot and often it was only by pleading that you would be as stealthy as a mouse. KER LICK KER LICK KER LICK KER LICK And then electronic shutter came along. Shutter button feel is more a personal preference as in I would prefer a damped option but could live without it. Sound is non-negotiable to me these days though. I can’t be invisible and I cannot always be totally silent, but I do practice stealth as much as is practically possible and KER LICK is not part of that equation.

I quite like it and would pair it with an adapted Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 for a compact, sub 700g, 27-75mm FF equivalent EDC/travel set up.

Goes off to check out Nikon Z30…

I’ve got 7 years so might just beat it being ‘above mid market’ 😉

What he ☝️said. Exactly. One is both damped in feel and sound. The other is not and I have not been able to tolerate it as it grates on me. I want tools that are both enjoyable to use and at the same time, get out of the way. For video, it does. For stills, it does not.

Not so much AI, as I can't see how that can in any way take over or have any real impact on what I do (weddings/events) but in other ways, photography and video services are continually evolving and no one is getting any younger...and all these factors do play a part and begin to add up. I've been through a few both personal situations unique to me, plus the global one's that impacted everyone in business (such as the Covid years) and looked at 'other options' several times, but like you, couldn't find anything else I would or in most cases, could be doing. Short of stacking shelves in a supermarket etc... And some things just do not make any sense such as for me, I have never been able to make any form of commercial photography or video work financially. Ever. Despite being surrounded by dozens of peers who can and do. But then I know people who cannot work out why they cannot make photo/video coverage of events work for them... Some stuff is just a bit of a mystery... I came to the conclusion that I was not born to be a wedding/event photographer, but for whatever reason, I am and it works for me where it might not for others and so I'll see out my full-time working career in this industry for the next 7 years. By that time, maybe AI droids will have come into being shooting weddings, but I will be heading for the exit by then so, good luck to the brides and R2Dphoto.

YES, someone else that also gets this! As a 50:50 stills/video shooter myself, only photographers really get just how important shutter sound (and button feel) are when it’s your job. It was awful on the OG S5 and that carried over to the S5ii. I love my S5ii for video but for stills, the S1H is in another league. I could have, and wanted to build a system around 3x S5ii’s, but the shutter sound plus the lack of lenses for my specific needs, has meant I cannot. I genuinely think that Panasonic potentially has the best all round hybrid cameras in the S5ii and the S1H and they just need to merge the two into one for the ‘perfect’ camera, ie, the focus system of the S5ii in the S1H! Actually my ‘perfect’ camera is a mashup of the; S5ii, the S1H and the Sigma FP with Tamron lenses, specifically the 35-150mm f2/2.8 and 70-180mm f2.8 If only, for those lenses, it’s Sony or Nikon bodies only…which is why I have skipped off back to Nikon + Tamron for stills.

Or one of the full frame A7C's for even greater cropping capability? I think if I was starting all over again from scratch with everything, I might go this route... I have avoided these single card slot cameras for pro work for many years, but actually, for my needs, units such as the FX30, A6700, A7Cii and A7CR, paired with some of the more recent compact APSC and FF zooms such as the Sigma 18-55 & 28-70, the Tamron 17-70 & 28-75, make HUGE sense as lightweight, compact options.

The question is, what is the size of that market? To play devils advocate, let's say it's 10,000 units per annum but based on their research, they would need to sell 100k units PA to make it worthwhile, they are not going to do it are they. There's lot's of stuff I'd like to see in the marketplace, but if it's too niche, I can understand why it does not exist, even if I do not like it! I think phones have simply killed the market. Not completely as in of course folks exist who wish to be served by it, but in such small numbers, it's not viable. Or the projections aren't. Or 'stuff' just doesn't fit their brand/profile anymore. There seemed to be a time when stuff was getting smaller, but I think that time is mostly over. Mostly. Other stuff is filling certain niches such as phones and action cam type stuff. Personally, I'd like to see big (FF and MF) sensors in tiny bodies with lenses to match, but either the physics of it does not (yet) exist, or the cost to design and build is too high. I had high hopes for instance for the Sigma FP, but it has not hit the mark for my needs. Something like the L model with the optional grip and the Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 with decent cropping ability due to being 61mp, makes for an extremely compelling unit to me. On paper. And it falls down at that point due to banding issues, no IBIS and no 4K 50/60p and no tilt screen. The latter can actually be fixed with an aftermarket solution, but the rest still kills it for me. Maybe the digital stabilisation might just be enough, I don't know, but it still falls short in 2 other key areas for my needs so a sad "no". OK, it's not super super tiny, but had it ticked more or all of the boxes, what a stunningly capable, sub 1kg unit that would have been...

Me also including hot shoe mounted Go Pro. It was awful. At some point, I reluctantly came to the conclusion ‘tools for jobs’ which is why going into 2024, I’m going 4 bodies/5 lenses with a lens swap on one body only twice in a single shoot. To some it might seem to be a case of ‘more’ but in reality it is ‘less’ because it is replacing a system of 3 bodies/6 lenses, quite a bit of faffing and one of those units weighed 2.8+kg whereas going into ‘24, the heaviest will be 2.2kg (if I go Z9) or about 1.75kg (Z8) and less still if that Z6iii pops up or I go for a second Zf. Plus a lot less faffing. Could be even less faffing still with the OSMO 3 Pocket which after some research, fits my use case better than anything else out there compared with a gimbal. The only thing is 500 euros…

Ditto. Clients like it and want it, but I am not that interested personally so whilst I do use it on every job, as with most things I use/do, very specifically and then put it away. The OG lasted me until I had crashed it one two many times and then I replaced it with an Air 2s which will do me until it explodes or is lost at sea or something. Hadn’t really considered that… Again, I only use a gimbal at one specific time and it’s kind of overkill in that regard but I do not wish to drop its use. It’s a PITA to store, carry, set up etc so might look at the OSMO Pocket 3 and ditch the despised gimbal forever… 😉

I hear you and much prefer myself, locked down static shots...but it's not practical for me in my work so I have compromised as follows: Ceremonies and speeches, static tripod for the full length productions, but some static IBIS stuff for 'The Film' because stuff like reactions etc, I couldn't work fast enough with even a monopod, never mind a tripod. Candid stuff which is most of the rest actually, steady IBIS, ie, 'tripod mode'. I never pan or track follow movement patterns ie, any movement should be almost imperceptible. Gimbal is reserved purely for walking tracking couple so a couple of 10's of seconds of footage max. If I had to go one way of the other though, handheld or static, I'd choose static every time and I can't stand this current vogue for waving the camera around in every scene.

I agree with the above 👆 thoughts as someone who shoots stills and video all day long at every job I do. It is possible to use the same kit most of the time, but not all the time, something that has been part of the puzzle for me. My own reality came down to there being 2 solutions better than any other and these were: A. The twin body set up shooting min 6k raw to give me the ability to pull hi res stills, or, B. The 4 body set up with 2 set up and dedicated for video and the other 2 for stills. There was/is a 3 body approach but it actually required/requires more compromise than either of the above, for my needs at least. Therefore having a dedicated stills camera with a secondary additional compatible video function makes absolute sense.

To quote myself, I should clarify VERY happy with the result, just not the process required to achieve it from an ergonomic, weight and lens changing perspective. That is what I had to fix. And have not necessarily ‘fixed’, but improved upon considerably. Carry on 😉

It went OK… I ended up doing 21 jobs instead of the previous years 33, but the 2022 year workload was insane and a necessity after 2 terrible Covid ‘work’ years (ha, 6 jobs in 2 years). 2024 I have revised it down slightly even further to 15-20 and I already have 4 jobs locked in for 2025. Volume-wise, I have no concerns. Client-wise, as in the type, ditto. I have always been quite picky because otherwise… Kit-wise, struggled again all year long. As a solo, multi-day, hybrid destination wedding shooter, I have some very specific needs. It’s been an evolving process over many years based on the available tech each year combined with my ever-evolving approach and needs. By the close of my 2023 season, I finally cracked it regarding kit with the final conclusion that a 2, 3 or 4 body kit could work equally as well, but glass was the key. L Mount does not give me it so it has been a case of either ditch it totally, or split my photo and video needs into 2 different systems. For 2024, I decided to do just that and then we will see how that goes. My ‘perfect’ set up is with Canon, based around a pair of R3’s, IMO, the ultimate current hybrid body, but I can’t afford so… L Mount for video and Nikon/adapted Tamron for stills: Static video = S1H + battery grip + 70-200mm f4 Roaming video = S5ii + Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 Candid photo = Nikon Zf + 40mm f2 All other photo = Nikon ‘X’ + Tamron 20-40mm f2.8 plus Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 The ‘X’ being either; Z8, Z9, new Z6iii if it is available in time, or even another Zf. Other than that final piece of kit, I’m sorted and happy with all my set up, cameras, lenses, lights, audio etc and I’m well set up also with my motorhome/RV as a home away from home and mobile office. Bring it on ‘24!

For most people most of the time at this price point. IMO. An easier pick than the Zf as it’s more conventional but I am now of the opinion that Z Mount has the best lens options as it has all of it’s own Z line, all of it’s back catalogue F and all of Sony E, these latter two adapted with full AF capability. The most interesting and least compromised kit at this price point today, is L Mount and Nikon. The Zf is quite a big jump over the Z6ii when it comes to AF and IBIS and has the processor from the Z8/9. I hope so because I am currently on that proverbial fence flip-flopping between Z9, Z8, another Zf or a Z6iii. Ideally for its role, I would like a gripped body…but also a compact as possible body. Pros and cons for each of the above, but that’s just my own personal dilemma, but pertaining to Daniel, yes, might be worth holding on a while and seeing what the Z6iii might be. If it turns out to be a re-bodied Zf, then a lot of folks are going to be disappointed. Not because it won’t be a great camera…because that would be, but because folks always want more. If it has a version of the Sony A7iv 33mp sensor, an updated Z6ii style body and the tech from the Zf, straight to the top of the class, especially if it has an optional battery grip that is better designed than the clunky Z8 option.

Take a good look at both the Lumix S5ii and the Nikon Zf then. The latter at first appearance may appear to be a retro inspired ‘stills’ camera, but is actually an excellent low light, AF, performer. I’m still on the fence myself whether to: A: even bother with a Z8 or Z9 to pair it with and just get a second Zf, or, B: even move lock stock and barrel over to Nikon for video also. If I was not already heavily invested in L Mount, the question would be clearer and the answer would almost certainly be yes, but… For 2024 at least, it’s more a financial consideration and I will run both systems side by side. For your requirements though Daniel, the Zf paired with the 24-120mm f4 could be an excellent option? Or, S5ii with the 24-105mm f4 as I think this slightly longer focal range is more what you are used to and prefer over something like a 24-70?